Shuga's spin on 9.58

Leighton Levy, Gleaner Writer

9.58. These are numbers people are more likely to associate with Olympic champion Usain Bolt. But Shuga, the 2009 Digicel Rising Stars winner, is threatening to make those numbers her own.

While Bolt's 9.58 refers to the fastest time a man has ever run the 100-metre dash, Shuga's version refers to how fast some men finish in the bedroom.

It was what inspired the song and video that has been out for about a month now.

"It came from personal experience, and I have friends who talk about these things too, and they are basically saying they want a chance; they're not satisfied and they need satisfaction, so it kind of motivated me to write the song," she says.

She was quick to clarify that she doesn't want men to think she is bashing them. In fact, it is quite the contrary. "I am motivating them to work harder," she said with a smile.

The song is out on the Penthouse label and the feedback has been great, she says. "Everybody loves it. It a tun up mi ting," she declares.

The entertainer, formerly known as Brown Shuga, expects 9.58 to be on an album she plans to release in the first quarter of 2013. The album has been almost two years in the making, but Shuga says she is in no hurry because she is focused on quality.

"Quality has no fear of time," she said, revealing that producers Donovan Germaine, Shane Brown, Merrick Shaw, and fellow entertainers Esco Levi, D-Major and Busy Signal, whom she described as a mentor, have all had input on the album.

Topical issues

Unwilling to divulge too much about what will be included on the album, Shuga hinted that songs like Talk Mi Mind, a song about social issues affecting Jamaica, have made the cut.

"The sexual predators, the killings, education, students who don't take school seriously at all with their tight pants and miniskirts and those who bleaching out; basically, kids who think they're mature and that they know it all," she said.

"In that song, I am telling them that a pure idiot ting dem a do."

A song, called Bedroom Punisher is also expected to be on the album, which is yet to be titled.

The success of the 9.58 video is what Shuga is banking on to get herself back into the limelight, similar to what she experienced when she won the Digicel Rising Stars contest in 2009.

After the initial euphoria wore off, Shuga found that the music industry was difficult.

"The competition is a whole different ball game from the music industry. That was just a talent competition, to show my talent, to show Jamaica that this girl has a talent," she said.

She said she had to learn original songs, ride rhythms, how to work with professional people, and generally learn the business. "I am still learning," she said.